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image captionPeter Smirles and Jean Robson have been dating for 26 years
An 85-year-old care home resident has married his 91-year-old sweetheart after a registrar was given special powers to make it happen.
Peter Smirles and Jean Robson s nuptials kept being postponed because of the pandemic.
Peter s health began to deteriorate just after Christmas and his doctor advised the ceremony should happen sooner rather than later.
It finally took place at The Cedars care home in Purton, Wiltshire.
A licence had to be granted by the county s superintendent registrar.
Peter has been dating Jean for 26 years. Why rush?
Couple aged 85 and 91 marry in Wiltshire care home bbc.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bbc.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Stacey Rupolo/Chalkbet
A year into a pandemic that has forced more than 350,000 Hoosier students to learn remotely, Indiana House lawmakers have proposed full funding for schools that provide virtual education including online-only schools that have long received lower allocations.
Nearly 18,000 students now attend dedicated virtual schools a 65% jump from last school year. That figure is dwarfed by the number of children in brick-and-mortar schools who are now learning virtually due to the pandemic.
The proposal to inject more money into virtual education, part of the draft budget released by the House Republicans last week, is a victory for advocates of online-only schools who say growing awareness is helping them win support for full funding. Indiana has long funded virtual schools at a lower rate than in-person schools based on the theory that online education is less costly than traditional instruction.